I have often wondered if I lived in Paris, would I ever tire of wandering the almost endless maze of flea market stalls in search of treasures.  I don’t wonder for long, as I always rather quickly come to the inescapable conclusion that I most definitely would not.  With an ever changing and ever amazing inventory, I think it is safe to say that even as a bona fide Parisian, I could never abandon my favorite French past-time.

I almost always find something, but even when I don’t the search itself is educational, inspirational, and far less dangerous than my second favorite Parisian past-time…

A morning at Porte de Vanves left me a happy shopper.  Porte de Vanves is a great choice for anyone, but it is an especially good choice for beginners.  It is a fairly small market and easy to maneuver.

I adore antique and vintage linens.  Depending on how strong the $ is, these can be quite expensive, even at the flea market.  I bypassed the dealers who specialize in linens and found this random piece for 6 Euro.

This is the day I began a fascination with antique keyholes.  They just spoke to me and I gathered a nice selection at 5 euro each.  Amazing little works of art, the larger one became  the logo for French Kissed. I installed one of the smaller ones on a French cabinet that was missing its original fitting, and the rest are sure to inspire a decorative art project or two.

Avoiding the book dealers, these books were also a great buy, because I got them from a silver dealer.

While you can find silver and silverplate trays in abundance at second hand venues in the US,  I find that they are scarce in Paris–especially the less expensive siverplate.  Could it be because the French are all using these lovely trays for everyday living rather than casting them aside as we have been prone to do?

This little French flourish won my heart.

From the heart of Paris, there is a  trove of flea market treasures out there  that just keep knocking on my heart’s door, waiting to be discovered so that they can live anew.